Student Channel

Astronaut visit leaves Quays News team over the moon

Shooting stars, the
planet Mars and the next generation of space travellers were on the itinerary
when a former NASA astronaut visited the University last week.

Dr Don Thomas, who has
been on four shuttle missions and spent time on the International Space
Station, touched down at our MediaCityUK campus to take part in Quays News: Space Special.

His visit marked the
half-way point in British astronaut Tim Peake’s space expedition and gave Quays
News viewers the chance to find out more about what life as an astronaut is
really like.

Quays News is a student news website full of
interesting local stories, videos and packages produced by our students at university
and beyond.

The programme was
produced by BA Journalism graduate Dan McLaughlin, who is Content Intern of
Quays News, and presented by MA Journalism student Maximilian Merrill.

Dan said: “We were in a
very lucky position to get an interview with Don before Newsround and BBC
Breakfast.

“There was a buzz in
the newsroom and every student can take pride in producing such a special
programme.

“Quays News is a great
training platform for our students and continues to attract leading media
personalities.”

Don, who has spent a
total of 43 days, 8 hours and 13 minutes in space, even brought some props with
him – a pair of Russian spacesuit gloves and some of the dehydrated food that
astronauts eat when they’re in space.

Executive Producer Neil
Salmon, who leads the Broadcast Technical Team at MediaCityUK, said: “This was
a fantastic opportunity for our students.

“Quays News continues
to be a highly successful cross-programme collaboration which is open to all
students at the University.”

The Quays News team
also gave children from Didsbury Road Primary School, in Stockport, an
opportunity to ask Don some video questions about being an astronaut, which
linked in with the topic they are studying as part of the Year 5 curriculum.

Their teacher, Sarah
Clapperton, said: “Space is one of the hardest topics for the children to
understand properly, as everything is so ‘big’ and far away.

“For them to be able to
do something that makes it a little more real and accessible is brilliant.”